Install the App
Get timely alarms — even when your screen is off
BreakTimer works great in any browser, but installing it as an app on your phone/tablet unlocks a key advantage: notifications and alarms that fire reliably even when your screen is off or you've switched to another app.
Why does this matter? When you use BreakTimer in a regular browser tab, your device may throttle or suspend the tab's background processes to save battery — meaning your alarm can be delayed. Installing the app and enabling unrestricted battery access will ensure that your session alarms will fire on time.
Your browser supports one-tap install. Tap the button above to install BreakTimer to install and add it to your home screen. Once installed, you can skip the "How to Install" section below and go to the "Enable Unrestricted Battery Use" section.
How to Install
Follow the steps for your device and browser. Once installed, BreakTimer will appear on your home screen and run as an app.
- 1 Open breaktimer.com in Chrome/Samsung Internet.
- 2 Tap the menu in the top-right corner.
- 3 Tap Add to Home screen.
- 4 Tap on Install
- · Firefox: Tap → Install or Add to Home screen.
- · Edge: Tap → Add to phone.
- 1 Open breaktimer.com in Safari. (Install only works in Safari on iOS/iPadOS.)
- 2 Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen (or top on iPad).
- 3 Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
- 4 Tap Add in the top-right corner. The BreakTimer icon will appear on your home screen.
- · After installing, open the app from your home screen, then go to Settings → Notifications and enable them inside the app.
Enable Unrestricted Battery Use
After installing, tell your phone to let BreakTimer run freely in the background. Without this, the OS may delay or block alarms and notifications to conserve power.
- 1 Go to your phone's Settings app.
- 2 Tap Apps (or Application Manager), then find and tap BreakTimer.
- 3 Tap Battery (or App battery usage) → select Unrestricted (some versions, you need to tap on Allow background usage → Unrestricted) (on Samsung/Pixel: Unrestricted; on other Androids: Don't optimize).
- 1 Open the Settings app and scroll down to BreakTimer.
- 2 Tap Notifications and make sure Allow Notifications is on. Set the alert style to Banners or Alerts (not silent).
- 3 Enable Sounds and Critical Alerts if available — this allows alarms even when the phone is on silent.
- 4 iOS manages battery automatically, so no extra battery step is needed. Just keep notifications enabled and launch the app from your home screen icon.
After Installing
Once the app is on your home screen and battery use is unrestricted:
- Always open BreakTimer by tapping on the app icon, not from your browser. This ensures it runs as the installed app, not as a browser tab.
- In BreakTimer's app ⚙ Settings, enable Push Notifications.
- You do not need to keep the screen on — start your timer, lock your screen, and BreakTimer will notify you when time is up.